Two new board members for St. Charles

Buehler takes a leave of absence from director role

Two new members joined St. Charles Health System’s board of directors in August, replacing members who left in 2015 and 2016, according to a news release from the hospital system Monday.

Sanaz Askari, a doctor with Cascade Internal Medicine Specialists, and Shawn DeGroot, president of Compliance Vitals, LLC, are the new board members.

The addition of Askari and DeGroot to the board brings the number of directors up to 13, according to Lisa Goodman, a spokeswoman for St. Charles. The board can have up to 15 people, but adding directors is done at the discretion of the board chairman. In addition to the two new members, the board of directors has another change in effect: Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, has taken a leave of absence effective through 2018 since he announced his run for governor, Goodman said.

Askari joined Cascade Internal Medicine Specialists in February 2011. In addition to providing internal medicine care for hospitalized patients, Askari is also involved in several local medical and hospital organizations meant “to improve the quality of health care provided to patients in the community” St. Charles’ release said.

Askari is an active member of the American College of Physicians and the Oregon Medical Association, a past president of the Central Oregon Medical Society and the St. Charles Hospital Bend medical staff. Askari is also an medical staff member at St. Charles’ hospitals in Bend and Prineville.

DeGroot, a resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, joined the board after serving on the Audit and Compliance Committee for one year, the release said. DeGroot is a certified fellow in health care compliance, compliance and ethics, human subject research and privacy, and is the past president of the Healthcare Compliance Association. In addition, she’s served in leadership roles at several nonprofit organizations.